Shower door latch

ABSTRACT

A latch for a shower door mounted on a shower door with one edge of the door hinged to the frame, with the other edge of the door extending to the opposite side of the frame. A handle means is secured to the moring edge thereof with the pull portions of the handle extending from opposite sides of the door. The pull portion of the handle extending from the side of the door facing inwardly toward the shower stall includes a lip or ridge portion projecting toward the opposed portion of the frame. A depressable detent or bolt means is mounted on the door frame so as to engage with the lip portion, whereby, when the door is closed, the latch means will be biased into contact with the lip portion to hold the door in the closed position.

TL ystad snownn nook LATCH [45] Aug. 6, 1974 [54] Primary Examiner-Robert L. Wolfe 75 Inventor: Arnold 0. Rystacl, Lakeport, Calif. Attomey, & McCoy 73 Assi nee: Work Ri ht Products Inc." Ha ward} 1 g Calif; y 57 ABSTRACT 22 Filed; Oct 16 1972 A latch for a shower door mounted on a shower door 1 with one edge of the door hinged to the frame, with PP 297,924 the other edge of the door extending to the opposite side of the frame. A handle means is secured to the 52 us. Cl. 292/74 "toting edge thereof with the P Portions of the 51 Int. Cl. E05c 19/02 the extending from Opposite Sides of the The [58] Field of Search 292/74, 75, 70, 71 341.15, pull portion of the handle extending from the side of 292/34] 18 the door facing inwardly toward the shower stall includes a lip or ridge portion projecting toward the op- [56] References Cited posed portion of the frame. A depressable detent or bolt means is mounted on the door frame so as to en- UNITED STATES PATENTS gage with the lip portion, whereby, when the door is 250,336 3/1938 Lehman 292/75 closed,- the latch means will be biased into Contact 3, 4,996 9/965 Behrens 292/34l.l5 the portion to the d in the closed p sition.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures 7 7 l 6 1 7 l 7 i :9 Z

i l 49 fi L\ l 6 I l 53 If I l i I i Li 1 SHOWER nook LATCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to swinging shower doors and, more particularly, to: A latch means for retaining the swinging shower door in a closed position; a frame for a tempered glass door; and a drip channel for a shower door.

2. Description of the Prior Art In presently available frameless glass panel doors of the tempered glass type which are hinged along one side to provide a swinging door, the opposite side edge of the panel is provided with a handle means, incorporating a latch, which is spring biased outwardly and which contacts a marginal lip portion or the like on the frame surrounding the shower door to maintain the door in closed position when a person is taking a shower or it is desired to close the shower stall. However, when utilizing tempered glass for these doors, the panels must be cut to size before they are tempered since it is impractical if not impossible to cut tempered glass. Thus, stock sizes of the panel are generally provided.

It is important that means be provided to compensate for clearance errors in the mounting structure for the panels, since the frames installed around the open edge of a shower stall may vary, in width, and in their angle of mounting due to the uneven walls or other variables which must be taken into account. In addition, presently existing shower door operative latch means are generally mounted onand extend outwardly from the shower door edge. This arrangement of shower door handle is expensive to manufacture.

In addition, presently available swinging shower doors are provided with gutter means along the bottom thereof, which gutter means normally extend to the swinging side edge of the door. In this manner, when a shower door in use is opened, any water excess in the gutter, empties from the free end portion of the gutter onto the floor of the bathroom or the like causing unsightly messes and creating a slippery floor hazard. This unwanted water must be cleaned up, or allowed to dry, and dirty the towels or the like which are used for this purpose.

It has been found that frameless shower doors have the best market reception. A problem which exists in the art of making tempered glass shower doors is the mounting of the hinges on the door. One method is gluing hinges on the door panel with epoxy. However, a significant number of bonding failures have been experienced and this securing means has been generally discarded. A second method is to drill holes in the tempered glass and place bolts through the holes to hold the hinges. This procedure has created stresses in the glass which has caused such a significant number of tempered glass doors to shatter that abetter method of securing the hinges to the doors is required.

A need accordingly exists for a latch means which may be adjusted for error in the mounting of the frame portion of the shower stall, and which eliminates the usual operative element whcih projects from the door 'edge. A gutter means is needed which does not discharge water onto the bathroom floor area. And a tempered glass hinge is needed which is not subject to failure and does not cause stress in the glass.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A latch for use in securing a swinging shower door having one side edge hingedly attached to the vertical portion of a door frame of a shower stall enclosure. The latch comprises a handle means secured to the swinging side edge of the shower door including pull portions extending outwardly on opposite sides of the door. The pull portion facing toward the interior of the shower stall includes a lip or ridge portion facing outwardly with respect to the door edge for engaging a depressable latch means mounted on a mating portion of the door frame whereby the door will be maintained in the closed position.

A gutter mounted on the inside lower edge of said door slanting downwardly from the free edge of the door to the hinged edge of the door and extending beyond the pivot axis of the door hinge so that when the door is open up to or slightly more, the termination of the gutter end remains inside the interior door line formed when the door is closed.

A door hinge for a tempered glass door comprising a channel member disposed along the vertical edge of the door at the hinge side. The glass portion is disposed in spaced realtion to the bottom of the channel to permit the sides of the channel to be compressed or drawn together to grip the glass by bolts extending through the channel at spaced intervals along the channel between the glass edge and the bottom of the channel.

The channel also includes a pivot means disposed at the upper and lower ends of the channel with the axis of the pivot disposed in the corner of the channel bottom closest to the outer side of the door.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an important object of the invention to provide an operative latch means for a swinging shower door which is mounted on a stationary door frame portion of the shower door assembly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a handle for a swinging shower door which cooperates in the locking of the door and can be made from a length of simple extrusion but requires no operative assembly mounted in the handle.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a latch means for a swinging shower door which is adjustable with respect to the frame of the door to which it is attached, to compensate for clearance variations of the door frame or door panel. k

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a gutter for a swinging shower door which maintains the discharge end of the gutter inside the shower stall even when the door is open and does not interfere with the door operation or require clearance notches to be cut in the shower door frame assembly.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a hinge mount for a tempered glass door which does not require any holes to be drilled in the glass.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a hinge mount for a tempered glass door which securely grips the glass without any bonding of the glass to the hinge.

And it is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a pivot geometry for the hinge of the door which permits an automatic shower door seal to close the gap at the hinge assembly between the shower door edge and the shower door frame assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Additional objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the latch, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inside portion of a shower door having a latch means of the present invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial perspective view showing the latch means contacting the door pole of the shower door of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a preferred embodiment of the present invention as installed on a glass panel door mounted in a door frame 11 defining an opening in the front face of a shower stall (otherwise not shown). The door frame includes channels or similar frame portions l3, 15 mounted, in any convenient manner in vertical positions along the facing door jamb sides of the frame 11. These channels or front portion may extend upwardly along the entire space provided within the frame or, as shown in FIG. 1, may stop short of the top thereof to provide an air space 17.

A door panel 19, preferably made from an opaque tempered glass, is provided with a channel member 21 extending along the vertical side edge 23 thereof for pivotally mounting the door panel. As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, a pivot means is connected with the element 21 to hingely attach the door to the frame jamb portion 13. The pivot means may include a rod therein for insertion through a bearing (not shown). Two bearing members are mounted respectively on the header portion of the door frame 13 and on the channel member of the door whereby pivot means are disposed at the upper and lower ends of the channel member.

The pivotal mounting means also includes a unique location of the pivot axis for the hinge which permits a splash shield 27 to be used to automatically cover the gap between the channel member and the door frame when the door is closed. The pivot location permits the shield to be formed integral to the channel member without causing interference in the operation of the door. The pivot axis of the hinge for affecting this automatic clearance and operation is disposed in the corner of the channel closest to the outer side of the door. In other words, the hinge is disposed at the corner of the channel closest to the outside of the door rather than in the center of the edge of the door as is the usual practice.

The shield member is formed integral to the channel member on the inside surface of the channel member and overlaps the interior edge of the respective door jamb 13 to prevent the splashing or passage of water through the gap when door panel 19 is in the closed position. The shield member is actually an extension of the inside channel member side wall. Thus, the channel member, hinge means cavity, and the shield can be formed from a single length of extruded material.

The design of the channel member is also unique. The glass is inserted only part way into the channel member whereby the vertical edge of the glass door is disposed in spaced relation to the bottom of the channel member. The outside wall of the channel member is provided with a locating ridge 28 against which the vertical edge of the door is seated during assembly. A pliable molding 30 is disposed in the channel around the vertical edge of the door between the channel side walls and the glass to form a seal between the glass and the channel element.

Bolt means 32 such as machine screws are utilized to draw the side walls of the channel together and compress the sides of the channel together to grip the glass. The screws extend between the side walls of the channel at spaced intervals therealong and project across the channel at positions located between the edge of the glass and the bottom of the channel. In the preferred embodiment, the holes in the outside side wall of the channel are threaded to receive the screws.

The door is also provided with a gutter element 29 secured on the inside of the door proximate the lower edge of the door. The gutter includes a closed end 31 and a channel 33 running from the closed end to an open end 35 at the opposite end thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the gutter is preferably mounted on the door so as to slope from the closed end portion at the free edge of the door toward the hinged edge of the door. Water will flow off of the door and into the channel 33 where it will then discharge from the opening end 35 of the gutter to the interior of the shower stall.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the gutter channel is formed so its termination extends beyond the pivot axis of the door and overlaps the door frame portion 13, whereby, when the door is swung to the open position up to at least degrees, the termination or end portion of the channel and the discharge 35 will remain within, or extend inwardly of, the interior door line formed when the door is closed to thereby insure that any water discharged into the channel will empty inside the shower stall and not discharge onto the bathroom floor outside of the shower stall. By making the gutter slightly longer, a larger degree of opening of the door can be accommodated.

The swinging side edge portion 36 of the door 19 need not be provided with a frame thereon although the latch system of the invention may be provided with an edge frame if desired. A handle body 39 is mounted at a convenient height on the door to facilitate opening and closing the door. It includes a channel portion 41 for mounting upon the side edge 37 of the door panel. Inwardly and outwardly extending hand grip portions 43, 45, respectively, are provided to enable the shower door to be pulled to the open or closed position in the directions shown by arrow 47 in FIG. 2. The design of the handle is such that it can be made of a relatively short length of extruded material and simply clamped on the door. A thin layer of resilient material can be used between the glass and the handle to prevent metal to glass contact.

For the purposes of providing the latch of the invention, the grip portion 45 facing toward the interior of the shower stall, is provided with an integrally formed edgewise outwardly extending lip or ridge portion 49 which projects toward the adjacent jamb portion of the door frame 15. v

The door frame includes an integral edgewise outwardly extending shoulder stop portion 51 along the entire length thereof. Portion 51 prevents further movement of the door after it has contacted the same to provide a closed position therefor. This shoulder stop 51 is provided with a sealing strip 53 to prevent water from passing between the door and the stop 51 when the door is in the closed position as shown.

To complete the latch of the invention, a depressable element latch means 55 is adjustably mounted on the stop jamb portion 51 by means of screws 57 preferably carried within the stop portion. Upon loosening of the screw 56, only one of which is shown in FIG. 3, the latch means 55 may be moved toward or away from the handle body 39 of the door 19 so that a depressable element thereon may engage the lip portion 49 to secure the door. The depressable bolt element latch means 55 may take a variety of forms. However, in the form illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the means is constructed with a rectangular casing 58 provided with mounting tabs 60 engaged by screws 57. The casing 58 is provided with an end opening through which the rounded end of a detent latch bolt 59 projects to engage the lip portion 49 of the handle and is moved by biasing pressure from a spring 61 disposed within the casing 58.

In the closed position of the door shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the protruding portion of bolt 59 abuts against the lip 49 to securely hold the door in the closed position with a channel portion 41 thereof seated firmly against the sealing strip 53. When it is desired to open the door, either of grips 43, 45 may be used. That is, grip 45 may be pushed or grip 43 may be pulled by the hand of an individual whereby the lip 49 will press against protruding locking portion 59 to depress the same inwardly against the force of spring 61 to allow the lip 49 to move over the protruding portion 59, to thereby allow the door to be swung outwardly to the open position.

It therefore can be seen that the distinct advantage of the present invention is provided by aswinging shower door having a gutter means which extends into and always drains into the bottom portion of a shower stall closed thereby.

Another advantage of the present invention is provided by a latch means which is mounted on a portion of a door frame interior of a shower stall. This latch means is alignable with and contacts a lip portion formed on one of the grips of a handle means mounted on the shower door, whereby, when the latch means is biased into contact with the lip portion, the door will be maintained in the closed condition. No operative parts are required to be mounted in the handle and it can therefore be made from a length of extruded material.

And a further advantage of the invention is the unique mounting of the hinge means on a tempered glass door by a channel member which is secured to the glass without bonding or the necessity of providing holes through the glass. Also unique in this feature is the combination location of the pivot axis of the hinge and the splash shield which is made permissible by the pivot axis location.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail, it is not to be limited to such details as have been set forth except as may be necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A latch assembly for a swinging shower door panel comprising a handle secured to the free edge of a shower door by means of a channel section portion in said handle, said channel section being formed in such proportion that said handle may be forceably installed on the edge of the door whereby, when disposed in position over the edge of the door, said channel section clamps in a self-locking grip thereon without the need for any additional securing means and without the need for forming holes in the door, said handle including two gripping portions extending outwardly from opposite sides of said channel, and a lip formed on the side of the gripping portion disposed on that side of the door facing and engaging the door frame jamb when the door is in a closed position, said lip projecting outwardly toward the opposite or opposing door frame jamb and being spaced along the gripping portion apart from the channel portion of said handle, said channel portion, said handles, and said lip being formed of an integral shape whereby said integral shape may be extruded on a continuous length of material and a plurality of handles may be formed by cutting the extrusion into short lengths, and depressable bolt element latch means adjustably mounted on the door frame jamb in a position opposite said handle and at a point between said channel section portion and said lip portion of said handle when said door is closed, said depressable bolt element projecting outwardly from said door jamb frame toward said handle whereby when the door is closed the bolt element is disposed between said lip and said channel section against said lip holding said door in the closed position, said bolt element being depressable by movement of said lip across the bolt element in either direction whereby the lip element of said handle may be a fixed member and no operative elements need be included in the handle which is mounted on the door and once the door is assembled at the factory no further adjustment of the handle is needed at the installation Slte. 

1. A latch assembly for a swinging shower door panel comprising a handle secured to the free edge of a shower door by means of a channel section portion in said handle, said channel section being formed in such proportion that said handle may be forceably installed on the edge of the door whereby, when disposed in position over the edge of the door, said channel section clamps in a self-locking grip thereon without the need for any additional securing means and without the need for forming holes in the door, said handle including two gripping portions extending outwardly from opposite sides of said channel, and a lip formed on the side of the gripping portion disposed on that side of the door facing and engaging the door frame jamb when the door is in a closed position, said lip projecting outwardly toward the opposite or opposing door frame jamb and being spaced along the gripping portion apart from the channel portion of said handle, said channel portion, said handles, and said lip being formed of an integral shape whereby said integral shape may be extruded on a continuous length of material and a plurality of handles may be formed by cutting the extrusion into short lengths, and a depressable bolt element latch means adjustably mounted on the door frame jamb in a position opposite said handle and at a point between said channel section portion and said lip portion of said handle when said door is closed, said depressable bolt element projecting outwardly from said door jamb frame toward said handle whereby when the door is closed the bolt element is disposed between said lip and said channel section against said lip holding said door in the closed position, said bolt element being depressable by movement of said lip across the bolt element in either direction whereby the lip element of said handle may be a fixed member and no operative elements need be included in the handle which is mounted on the door and once the door is assembled at the factory no further adjustment of the handle is needed at the installation site. 